My Town

'The Voice' recap: And the winner is ...

By Chuck Barney

Contra Costa Times

Posted:
12/18/2012 08:08:38 PM PST

Updated:
12/18/2012 10:42:24 PM PST

Cassadee Pope is a winner. Now, can she be a star?

Pope, 23, was declared the Season 3 champion of "The Voice" Wednesday night at the end of a bloated and glitzy two-hour finale. She beat out Scottish rocker Terry McDermott and old-school funk specialist Nicholas David to capture the $100,000 cash prize and a recording contract with Universal Republic.

Pope, a native of Palm Beach, Fla. was long considered the front-runner on the popular NBC reality show. She became the first woman to win.

But it remains to be seen if Pope can thrive now that the cameras have stopped rolling. Though "The Voice" is one of the highest-rated programs on TV, it hasn't been a reliable star-maker. The show's first two winners, Javier Colon and Jermaine Paul, have yet to make a dent on the charts.

Those singers are R&B/soul specialists. Pope, in contrast. is a pop singer who has been compared to Avril Lavigne. Under the guidance of "Voice" mentor Blake Shelton, she also displayed a knack for country tunes. Her version of Faith Hill's "Cry" is currently No. 1 on the iTunes chart.

Pope broke away from the band, Hey Monday, to go solo for "The Voice."

"I was nervous to step out on my own and this experience made me feel like I could do it," she said. "All four of you (coaches) have made me feel like I could do it. Thank you."

Tuesday was also a big night for Shelton, who was the winning coach for a second straight season. In addition, he was the mentor for McDermott, who finished second.

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The coaching panel will look dramatically different when "The Voice" returns for Season 4 in March. Both Cee Lo Green, who mentored David, and Christina Aguilera are taking a temporary leave to tend to other projects. Shakira and Usher will take over their spinning chairs alongside returnees Shelton and Adam Levine.

Cee Lo and Aguilera dressed up for the finale, he in football shoulder pads (completed with spikes and chains) and she in a relatively demure (for her) black

dress with feathered shoulders and sparkly jewelry.

Midway through the evening, "The Voice" paid tribute to Aguilera, who was celebrating her 32nd birthday, with a lighthearted montage featuring messages from her fellow coaches. Green also provided a big highlight when he came out on the stage in a Santa sleigh to present all three finalists with new cars.

The show was jam-packed with musical performances from the finalists, returning contestants and big-name artists, including Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, the Killers, Smokey Robinson and Peter Frampton.

The live performances wrapped up with all four coaches combining to sing Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)."